In Love With My Best Friend's Boyfriend
by MarlyCook
Summary: Rory's room mate is dating Jess, and she is totally falling for him. Even though she has a boyfriend. But the thing is Jess is falling for her, too. AU Literai.. bad at summaries!
1. Hidden Feelings

**A/N: This story is AU! Rory goes to Yale, but lives in an apartment complex with three girls. None of them are Paris. She never dated Jess because he never came to Stars Hollow. They met six months ago… at school.**

**Disclaimer: I own Suzanne, Libby, and Hayley.**

**Jess' POV**

I groan as I hear Rory open the door and make a disgusted noise. I pull away from Hayley and sit up, "Way to ruin the moment Rory." I glare at her.

"Sorry! Carry on." She blushes and bites her lip, which I always find to be one of the most adorable things in the world, next to when she bites her pinky if she was nervous, "You horny little freak… every time I walk in you are at her like an animal." And then she opens her mouth, and all thoughts of 'adorable' fly out the window.

I sigh and look back at Hayley who was patting down her hair. Hayley rolls her eyes, "Can't you two just get along?"

"Hmm…" I contemplate, and then settle on, "No."

"Why not? Rory you are my room mate… and best friend. Jess, you are my boyfriend. Just try, please…" Hayley begs with those big brown eyes.

Rolling my eyes, I look at Rory for a minute, "Fine." I hate putting on this little act. I have to act like I don't have any feelings for Rory at all, when really… I do. But it is the only way I could get to have alone time with her. She is so beautiful, smart, funny, and everything. But she has a boyfriend and I have Hayley.

"Thank you. Now Jess and I have class so… I guess I will see you later, k roomie?" Hayley smiles brightly and gets off the couch, tugging me with her.

I have to come up with some lie so I can stay here and have a conversation with Rory, so I say the only thing I can think of, "My class is canceled, but I will see you tonight."

"Oh… well, walk me to my class?"

"I would, but I have to get ready for a job interview in an hour…"

She pouts and I feel bad, but then my gaze moves to Rory who is leaning in the doorway of the kitchen eating a granola bar, my granola bars, and suddenly I don't feel bad anymore, "Fine… see you later, babe." She kisses my cheek and I scowl at the pet name she gave me. I don't do pet names.

After she walks out the door, I hear one pet name that I can't seem to get rid of, even if I try, "Hey dipstick. Can you come get this box at the top of the pantry for me?" _Dipstick. _Can she come up with something better?

I sigh and walk over to Rory who is reaching on her tip-toes to get something down. I couldn't help but laugh as I walk over and reach to get it for her, "Got a date with Logan, tonight?" I ask trying to make a conversation. Even her voice sends chills down my spine.

"Yup." She grabs the box from me and sits it on the table, looking through it for Suzanne's snacks she kept stashed for herself.

Rolling my eyes, I speak again, "You know… you better start telling Suzanne it's you that takes her snacks… so she'll stop blaming me."

"Hey! You did eat the fruit roll-ups!" She points her finger at me, "And you told her it was Libby. Poor Libby."

I laugh at the memory of Suzanne chasing Libby around the kitchen with a plastic butter knife "It was entertaining. Admit it."

She tries to hold in her laughter, but at one point she just bursts out, "Okay! It was funny… very funny. I mean, what could you do to someone with a plastic butter knife?" She kept giggling, and I find it to be number three on the list of cute things she does.

Rory looks up and catches me staring at her. I duck my head down, hoping she wouldn't comment. A blush is rising in her cheeks, and I just smirk and walk out, "I'm going to take a shower in your bathroom, okay?"

She nods, "Okay."

I walk into her bathroom and close the door behind me with a soft click.

**Rory's POV**

It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! I saw Jess first at the party. He asked for _my _number. Not Hayley's. Why must I be dating Logan? Why is he dating Hayley? I hate this! Now, I have to pretend like I hate him, just so Hayley can trust me to be alone with him and Logan won't care.

I guess it is my fault. I _did_ tell Jess to go after Hayley once he found out I was taken. But that was four months ago! I didn't think they'd last this long. And now he's probably in love with her. Logan and I aren't doing well, anymore. But even if we do break up, Jess and Hayley seem to be doing fine. Life is officially unfair.

But he was staring at me before he went into _my _bathroom. I mean yes, I do share it with Suzanne, but he could've went in Hayley and Libby's bathroom. Okay now I am just being plain stupid.

I sit on the couch and turn on the TV, after one episode of 'Bewitched' I see Jess come out and cross the living room in nothing but a towel, dripping wet. I can't help but stare at him as he goes in Hayley's room and grabs some of his clothes from the top drawer. Yes, I know which drawer is his.

I hear him getting dressed behind the closed door and when he emerges from the room, he sends me a smile, not a smirk, and sits beside me, "Bewitched?"

Smiling, I nod, "Yup, nothing else is on."

"You wouldn't want to turn it on the game, would you?" He asks me, in a hopeful voice.

"I didn't peg you as the jersey guy." I laugh a little, thinking of him at a baseball game.

He shakes his head, "I'm not, I'm just supposed to check the score and call Luke."

I nod. That's the good thing about Jess. His uncle is my mom's boyfriend, so for holidays we spend it together in Stars Hollow, even though he hates it. But it is alone time for us, cause Hayley goes back to her hometown.

I turn the channel to find the game and offer an Oreo to Jess. He takes it and squints to read the tiny score. "Write that down for me?" He asks when he sees that I have a pen and paper beside me.

"No. Do it yourself." I hand him the notebook and black ink pen and watch him as he writes down tiny numbers. I love his handwriting. I often go in my room and pull a book off the shelf just to find that the margins have been filled with thoughts about the book.

I enjoy reading his thoughts. And I enjoy watching him write, especially if he is concentrating. That's when his tongue sticks out of his mouth a little and it is so damn cute.

I snap out of my daze when I notice he's looking at me. I face towards the TV, embarrassed. "You done, yet?"

He nods, "Yeah."

I change the channel and continue to watch Bewitched. He's sitting close to me and I like the way it feels when his leg bumps mine on accident.

Of course I am upset that he is dating my room mate, but then again if he's happy… it's fine by me. I just wish that I would have taken him when I had the chance. But being 'friends/enemies when our lovers are around' is okay for now.

I just wish he felt the same way…

**A/N2: I once heard that inspiration hits you in odd places. Boy was that statement true… this is just a story that came to me after sitting in my brother's dorm room and watching his relationship with his girlfriend and his girlfriend's best friend. I thought "Hey… this would be a good idea for a story." It will be short and I am writing updates for four of my other stories as we speak, so… they will be up shortly! Here it is, I hope you like it! Review please!!**


	2. Alone Together

**A/N: This story is AU! Rory goes to Yale, but lives in an apartment complex with three girls. None of them are Paris. She never dated Jess because he never came to Stars Hollow. They met six months ago… at school.**

**Disclaimer: I own Suzanne, Libby, and Hayley.**

**Jess' POV**

"I know my parents want to meet you sometime, because I talk about you a lot, but if you would rather go to Stars Hollow for the fourth of July then that is fine." Hayley says as she puts the dishes in the new dishwasher that Luke installed for her and Rory last week.

I sigh and walk into the living room with a can of soda. Sitting on the sofa, I speak, "It's not that I don't want to meet your family… it's just that I like spending time with Luke when I can."

"Well Rory's going, too, and I know how you two don't get along so I thought I would save you a week of bickering." She calls from the kitchen.

I think that going away with Rory is what I want to do this week. That's one of the big reasons I rather go to Stars Hollow. Of course I would never say that to Hayley, "I know, Hayles and I appreciate it. But I'm sure Rory and I can get along for a few days… for the sake of Luke and Lorelai."

"Fine." I hear her put a plate in the dishwasher and slam it shut before she walks into the laundry room to start the dryer.

I pop open my can drink, just as Rory walks in and over to me. She takes the drink out of my hand and takes a big gulp, "Oh thanks, I needed that… it's hot out there." She smirks and takes another sip before looking back at my scowling face, "What are you doing here anyways, dipstick? Don't you have a home?"

"If you don't remember… I have a right to be here." I state taking my soda back from her.

"But that doesn't mean you have a right to take our food and beverages." She snatches it back and walks to her room, looking over her shoulder and sticking her tongue out.

"Spawn of Satan, I swear!" I hear her laugh at my comment from her bedroom. I smile and lean back on the couch.

Libby slams in and rolls her eyes when she sees me, "That guy you set me up with is an obsessive freak. I went on one date with him and he is like a leech. Make him go away!"

I laugh and shake my head, "Nope… this is your thing."

"But it's your fault! You set us up!" She whines and plops down beside me, "Come on Jess… please!"

_My fault? _She's kidding right. "Libby, you are the one who saw him and said, and I quote, 'Jess… you have got to get me the hook up.' Honestly, I thought you were nuts, but now… I have nothing to do with it." I chuckle a bit, "You get rid of him."

"Hayley! Your boyfriend's being mean!" Libby yells from her spot beside me.

"What's new?!" I heard Rory yell from the bedroom. I can't help but smirk.

Hayley walks in the living room and looks between Libby and I, "Jess are you making fun of her taking her brother to her high school prom, again?" She crosses her arms across her chest.

A burst of laughter involuntarily comes out of my mouth, "No… but, that was hilarious."

"You're so mean!" Libby shrieks and hits me on the arm before going off into the room she shares with Hayley.

I cringe as I hear the door slam and my eyes avert to Hayley. She shakes her head, "That was so uncalled for…"

"You brought it up!" I argue, "I can't help that Libby's pathetic-ness amuses me."

"She wasn't very social in high school, Jess… that's not her fault."

"I can hear you!" Libby screams from the bedroom, and I cringe again.

"You need to apologize to her." She glares at me.

I look at the bedroom door, and then back at my girlfriend, "Maybe when she cools off…" Hayley rolls her eyes and walks into the kitchen, again.

A few hours later I feel a something thump against the back of my head, hard. I snap my eyes open, "Ow!" I hold the back of my head and see Rory sitting beside me, "What was that for?!"

"You were snoring too loud; I want to watch the rest of this show." She states not taking her eyes off the TV in front of us.

"What time is it?" I ask sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Like 11 o'clock."

"P.M.?" I ask, wondering why Hayley didn't wake me up earlier.

"Yup." Rory looks for the remote control, but obviously can't find it, "Damn it." She mumbles and sticks her hands in the cracks of the couch.

I help her on her search, "Where is everyone else?"

"They went to bed…" She said, but I could tell she was concentrating on only one thing… finding the control.

"Why didn't Hayley wake me?" I ask reaching under the couch to try and find it.

"I told her not to." She said, sounding exasperated.

"Oh…" I wonder why she did that, but I don't ask. I just continue to search for the control.

"Just screw it." She says, annoyed and stands up. I follow her actions and she walks over to the TV. After she turns it off we both I realize it is too dark for me to see where I am going. I start walking backwards carefully feeling everything behind me.

I hear Rory stumbling over the coffee table and then feel her fall on me, sending both of us to the ground. My back hits something hard and I realize what it is after the TV pops on and the blue light fills the room. I look up and see Rory looking back at me. We're so close. My breathing becomes quicker at the feeling of her on me. She mumbles some sort of apology and scurries off of me, running into her room.

After I sit up, I look behind me and see the remote control. I laugh a little bitterly and turn off the TV, before standing up and walking out of the apartment.

**Rory's POV**

Waking up to the sound of Hayley and Jess fighting is not something I like to be awakened to. Especially at 7 A.M. I stumble out of bed and see Suzanne standing in front of the mirror pinning her hair back, "What are they fighting about?" I ask, my voice laced with tiredness.

She turns to me, "They're fighting about you and him going to Stars Hollow today. By the way you guys are leaving as soon as the fight is over so get up and get dressed."

I groan and walk into the living room, pulling my sleeves down over my hands, "What is wrong with you? No one gets up this early."

Jess turns to me and smirks, "You are the only one in the house who is not awake."

I roll my eyes and walk past him and Hayley, reaching for a cereal bar in the bowl sitting in the middle of the table. I lean on the table after I take the wrapper off my cocoa puff bar and watch as Hayley looks between us and walks away.

"What was that all about?" I take a bite of my food and glance up at Jess.

"Nothing… just Hayley being… Hayley." He shakes his head and looks me up and down, "You aren't going like that, are you?"

I scoff, "Of course I am! Don't I look gorgeous?" I laugh and look up at him. He isn't laughing; it's starting to make me uncomfortable. He just stands there looking at me; finally he shakes his head and looks down at the keys in his hands, "Well… go get your bags."

"I'm joking… I am not going like this… I'll go get dressed." I laugh a little and this time he joins me. I walk into my bedroom and close the door behind me with a heavy sigh.

Suzanne looks up at me from her suitcase on the bed, "What's wrong? Did you finally express your _undying_ love for Jess?" She asks dramatically and my mouth hangs open, "Oh I forgot… it was a secret." She shakes her head.

I walk over and jerk the headphones off of her ears, "What are you talking about?" I demand.

"Oh don't pretend you don't have feelings for him… I see the way you two flirt. Poor Hayley can't even see what's right in front of her." Suzanne shakes her head.

"You have no idea what you are taking about." I whisper, harshly.

"I won't tell anyone… I think you two are practically made for each other. I like you better than Hayles… she whines too much if you ask me, but whatever. If you want to deny it then I won't help you."

"Help me with what? I have a boyfriend… I despise Jess." I smile a little, "We fight constantly."

"But when you two are alone…" She raises her eyebrows, "I see it, Rory… you may not see it yet, but I do."

I shake my head and walk into my closet, getting dressed quickly so I can go home. I walk out and grab my bag off the bed, "Bye Suzanne…"

"Bye Miss Denial." She looks up at me. "No Egyptian jokes." She adds.

Laughing, I walk out the door, not believing that my feelings for Jess are _that_ obvious. I walk out and see Logan standing in the doorway, "What are you doing here?" I fake a smile and I must say I am very good at it.

He walks over and hugs me before kissing me, soundly. Like, he's attacking me. I like Logan; I really do, but Jess… he's just… it. He ends the kiss first and look at me, "I came to say goodbye before you left."

I laugh a little, "It's not like I'm shipping off to Paraguay." I kiss his cheek, "I'll call you."

He nods and looks past me at Jess, "You're riding with him?"

"Yeah." I look back at Jess who is picking up my bag and heaving it over his shoulder.

"Mhm…" He has a tight smile on his face and I kiss the side of his mouth.

"We'll be home before you know it… we better go, though, so bye." I give him a smile before calling out a goodbye to Libby and Hayley and walking out the door.

I wait for him at the car. I know saying goodbyes to Hayley takes a while. I lean on the hood and watch as he walks out carrying my bag. He pops the trunk and I follow him to the back. He puts my bag in and slams it shut.

"Can I drive?" I ask looking at his car.

"Nope." He smirks and I see the playful glint in his eye. I smirk and catch a glimpse of the keys in his hand.

I look past him and make a horrified expression, "Oh my…"

He looks behind him, "What is it?" He asks as I snatch the keys out of his hand and hold it over my head. I smile as he looks back at me with a raised eyebrow, "You just stole my keys."

"Ha." I state leaning away from him, so he couldn't take them from me. He reaches for them, but I take another step back. When he reaches again, I take off running around his car.

"Ror…" He warns, standing on the other side of the car, "Give me the keys and no one gets hurt."

"Hmm.. no." I smirk.

He eases around the car, getting closer, "Okay, then…" He takes off running after me.

I squeal when he reaches me and starts tickling, "Stop, stop, stop…" I say laughing, with a tight hold on his keys.

"Give me the keys." He demands, trying to be serious but failing terribly.

I can't control my laughter anymore and I drop the keys on the ground. When I realize what I did I stop laughing and reach for them. He gets to them first and spins the key ring around his finger. I glare at him, "No fair. You cheated."

"Cheated? There are no rules in this game." He laughs and walks to the driver's seat of the car, "You're a sore loser."

I gasp at the horrible accusation and hop in the passenger seat, "How dare you!"

He chuckles and starts the car, "You are." He drives out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

"You're mean." I can't help but smile when I look at him. A week with Jess wouldn't be bad at all. He smiles back at me and we hold a gaze for a minute until he realizes he needs to look at the road.

I really need to control myself this week…

**A/N: Oh wow... thank you for all of the reviews! I didn't expect to get so many! I hope you like this next chapter as much as the first one! Review please!! **


	3. Drunken Confessions

**A/N: This story is AU! Rory goes to Yale, but lives in an apartment complex with three girls. None of them are Paris . She never dated Jess because he never came to Stars Hollow. They met six months ago… at school.**

**Disclaimer: I own Suzanne, Libby, and Hayley.**

**Jess' POV**

Rory reaches for another beer, which surprises me because I've never seen her drink more than a glass of wine. We are sitting in the bar on Karaoke Night, which is a big mistake might I add. Mostly because Lorelai is slightly tipsy and she wants to sing after Miss Patty gets done with her seventh and last song of the night.

With my eyes on the stage I go to grab my bottle that was supposed to be sitting in front of me on the table. When I can't feel anything I look at the table and see nothing but a circle of water, then I look up to see Rory taking the last swig.

"Rory… don't you think you've had enough?" I ask, carefully.

She giggles, obviously drunker than her mother, "No silly… I'm just getting started! I want to sing, too!" She pushes her chair out from the table in a quick motion and goes to stand up. She wobbles a bit and holds onto the table in front of her, laughing the whole time.

I stand up quickly to help her sit back down. I honestly don't want her to embarrass herself. She must be a light weight. I mean, yes she has had her bottle of beer, plus Luke's when he went to the bathroom, plus Lorelai's when she left to go on stage, plus mine… but she was already slurring in her speech when she got halfway done with Luke's.

She jerks her arm away before I can grab it to sit her down, "No! I want to go on stage!!" She whines.

"Rory, come on… let's get you home before you do something you don't want to do." I stand up and gently grab her arm. Turning to Luke before we leave, I nod to him, "I'm taking her home… she's a little drunk. Tell Lorelai, will you?"

"Will do." Luke replies, smirking a bit at the clumsy Rory in front of him, "Get her home."

We walk out to the car in silence, well I walk and she stumbles. When I open the door for her she gives me a small smile and falls in. Before I close the door I make sure she is all the way in. I get into the driver's seat and look over at her.

Rory gives me another smile and bites her lip, laying her head back on the seat, she says, "You're cute."

She pats my cheek and I smirk at her, "Thanks." I laugh a little at her bluntness. My phone rings interrupting my moment with Rory and I sigh as I answer the call, "Hello?"

"Jess! Hi! How's Stars Hollow?" I hear Hayley's voice over the phone.

"Hey Hayles, the trip is good. I'm driving back to Lorelai's place as we speak." I reply and glance over to see if Rory is okay. She was doodling on the part of the window that she breathed on to make a fog.

Rory heard me say 'Hayles' so she whips her head around to face me, "Hey Hayley!!" She squeals.

"Is that Rory?" Her voice turns to more of suspicion than happiness.

"Yeah… she's kind of drunk." I say, moving Rory's hair out of her face with one hand while my other is placed on the wheel.

"Tell her hey… I want to tell her hey!" Rory reaches for the phone and fails falling on the seat.

I chuckle a little and Hayley hears. "What's so funny?" She asks and I hear the annoyed tone in her voice.

"Nothing, hey I'm going to get Rory to bed… I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine. Bye, Jess." Hayley hangs up and I cringe at the way she hung up. She sounded a little pissed.

"What's wrong?" Rory asks me in a sing-song voice.

"Nothing." I pull up at the house and get out of the car. I go over to her side and open the door. She falls out into my arms, and I thank god I caught her.

We walk into the house and she starts to pull off her shirt, "It's hot." She whines pulling it over her head and revealing nothing but smooth skin and a cotton bra.

"Rory." I say a little shocked. She is having trouble with the shirt getting over her head and I breathe in sharply, looking at her. I need to get it together, though, I have a girlfriend. I reach up and pull her shirt back down to cover her up.

She turns to look at me quickly, then smiles, "I want to go lay down." She runs into her bedroom, clumsily and I follow her. When we get into her bedroom, I set her purse beside her on the bed. "I am going to get you some Tylenol for in the morning, okay?"

She nods and I walk out of the room. I hear her take out her cell phone and dial a number, but I just keep searching for the bottle. Then I hear her voice: "Hayles! Hi! Jessie wouldn't let me talk to you on the phone… he's mean, but then again if he was he wouldn't be bringing me home, now would he?" She chuckles and I just listen as my search for the medicine continues.

"I called to tell you that you are a very lucky girl. You love your boyfriend and I don't even know what love is. Well, I do, but honestly I can't have love. It hates me. Because you see, I don't love Logan . Nope. I love Jess. He gave me alcohol." She giggles again and I run into the bedroom, "And I love him for more reasons than tha-" I grab the phone from her quickly.

"Hayley? Hayley, she's drunk." I say into the phone, "She doesn't mean half of what she is saying. She's just saying that because I am here and helping her… she's not herself. You know a drunken Rory is crazy."

"I've never seen a drunken Rory." Hayley says, her tone not sounding too happy. I don't blame her, but Rory is really just saying things. She doesn't mean anything that is coming out of her mouth.

"Honestly, though, tomorrow she will wake up and remember none of this." I sigh and hope that she believes what I am saying. I also hope it even sounds believable. Hell, I'm trying to believe it myself. A part of me hopes it wasn't just the drunkenness talking and the other part of me is hoping that it was.

"Whatever, Jess. I'm getting tired so I guess I'll just talk to you tomorrow. Bye." She hangs up first, again.

I sigh heavily and look down at Rory who is looking at me oddly, "Why did you hang up? I wasn't done talking to her about how I feel about her boyfriend." She pauses and laughs, throwing herself back on the bed, "Who is also you!" She continues her fit of laughter and I just sit on the end of the bed.

I feel her crawl toward me and sit beside me, "Rory… you should lay down." I say turning to face her.

She nods, "My head hurts…" I lean her back on the bed and push her hair back and out of her face. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. I can't help but smile at her as she lies down and looks up at me with big doe eyes.

"What is it?" I ask, curiously.

"I like your hair…" She mumbles, lazily reaching up to run her tiny soft hand through my thick hair. She gets half-way there and drops her hand on the bed beside her. After a few minutes of me staring at her… she falls asleep.

If it was anyone else, I would have left them at the bar. It's not just anyone else, though…

**Rory's POV**

Waking up, I sit upright just a little too quickly. When I blink a few times the room seems to be spinning. My hand flies up to my forehead so I could hold it steady. It doesn't help, the room is still spinning and I'm still sweating. I feel dirty also. I am wearing the same clothes I had on last night and my eye makeup feels sticky.

I throw my legs over the side of the bed and walk to the living room. I don't hear anyone at first, but then I hear footsteps on the stairs. I turn around and see Jess walking down I smile slightly at him and he shakes his head.

Confused, I walk over to him. "Morning." I say, trying to sound happy. Even though, honestly, I feel too sick to be happy.

"Morning, boozy." He says, chuckling a little, "How do you feel?"

"Uh… I feel sick. How much did I drink?" I ask hoping I didn't make a fool of myself last night.

"Enough." He smirks and walks into my bedroom. I follow him and see him pick up a bottle of Tylenol, "Here. Take this." He hands me one and pours me a glass of water in the kitchen.

I throw the small tablet in my mouth and take a sip of the water, "Thanks." I smile, "So how bad was I last night?"

"Not bad, really… I mean you did say some weird things to Hayley on the phone and unless you call and apologize… she'll never speak to you again."

"Like what things?"

He laughs a little, "You said you loved me and not Logan."

I stumble backwards a bit and my eyes widen, "Wh-what?"

"Yeah, but I told her that you were just talking and that you didn't know what you were saying." Jess raises his eyebrows, "You were just saying things, right?"

"Of course!" I shake my head, "I mean I don't love Logan , but I certainly don't love you. We're friends." I try to force a laugh out, but I get nothing.

"Yeah, yeah… I know." Licking his lips, he nods towards the bathroom, "Why don't you go take a shower and we meet your mom and Luke for breakfast. Sound good?"

I nod and scurry off into the bathroom as fast as I can. My head still hurts like hell, but I have to get out of this room quick. I can't believe I said that last night… I can't believe I said that to his girlfriend last night! I ponder these thoughts as I step into the shower and let the hot water pound on my back.

After I get out of the shower I walk into my bedroom. Jess is sitting on the edge of the bed reading one of my books that he obviously found in one of my drawers. I tighten my hold on the towel I have wrapped around me. It feels like I have been standing here for fifteen minutes before I clear my throat to let him know I am here and waiting to get some privacy.

Jess' head shoots up and he immediately flushes, "I-I'm sorry…" He stands up quickly and snaps the book shut, laying it on my bed. He looks down at the floor, then at the clock on my desk, and then finally at the door on his way out. The only place his eyes didn't land was on me. He is embarrassed. I can't help but smile at the thought that I, Rory Gilmore, actually embarrassed Jess Mariano.

I close my door after he walks out. Getting dressed quickly, I fall over everything in my room. When I walk out into the living room he is leaning by the door, "Are you ready?" He asks, still looking down at the floor.

"Jess, I was covered up you know. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't seen anything." I smile at him to try and lighten his mood a little.

He lets out what I think is a relieved sigh, "Good… I just didn't want you to think I was waiting in there to see you…"

"Would you chill?" I laugh. It's very odd. Usually I am the one stumbling over my words, but this time I actually flustered him.

He nods and opens the door, holding it for me to walk through. I walk out before him and turn to make sure he is coming. When we get in the car I pull out my cell phone, "I guess I should call Hayles." I sigh.

He chuckles and nods to the phone, cranking up the car, "Well go ahead. It's time for my entertainment of the day."

"You get pleasure out of watching your girlfriend and I fight?" I tilt my head to the side.

"Well, as we all know, Hayley is a drama queen and she blows things out of proportion. So I like to see her take something that is so stupid and turn it into the dilemma of the day." He smirks and I laugh at his reply. It actually surprises me.

I shake my head and dial the number that as become familiar to me, "Better get this over with."

I hold the phone up to my ear and wait for her to answer, watching Jess drive the whole time…

**A/N: Review? Even though you guys are already way too generous with them. Hope you liked this chapter! And thank you for reviewing… I love reviews, they make me write faster. **


	4. Jake

**Disclaimer: I own Suzanne, Libby, Hayley, and Jake.**

**A/N: So in this chapter we will be introduced to new characters. When I said this is an AU story, I meant it. So the timeline is a little different. You will see in the story who Jake is. **

**Jess' POV**

As I listen to Rory sigh and give aggravated groans into the cell phone, I can't help but smirk. Hayley can be very over dramatic, sometimes. Honestly, I don't see how Rory can live with her.

"… Hayley come on! I was drunk and didn't realize half of the things I was saying!" I catch that little bit of what Rory says and I can tell she is getting fed up. I'd say we're five seconds from a 'Fine! Whatever!' and a very angry hang up.

"You know what, Hayley? I don't care … I know what's true and if you don't believe me then fine! Whatever!" Rory hangs up the phone and slams it down.

I keep my eyes on the road, but can't resist the urge to laugh. I let a slight chuckle escape, on accident, and I feel Rory's eyes burn into me.

"It's not funny!" She hits my arm and I laugh harder.

"Oh but, it is … I can't help it. Hayley gets so mad."

"Well, she's intimidated." Rory says, obviously teasing, by the tone in her voice.

I look at her and roll my eyes, "Yeah … that's it." Even though, actually, it probably is. Hayley has scolded me a lot by telling me that she, and I quote, 'Sees the way I look at Rory.' It's absolutely ridiculous.

Rory's squeal snaps me out of my daze as we pull up to the town square, "Oh my! Stop the car!"

I stop the car and get out. She gets out and runs to the gazebo where her mom is helping Miss Patty put up that ridiculous banner that reads 'Happy 4th of July' in big blue letters. This place is so Mayberry, it makes me sick. I walk over, slowly, taking my time to look around at the insanity.

When I walk over I see a tall guy with green eyes and sandy colored, curly hair hugging Rory. I feel a pang of jealousy at seeing Rory so happy with another male. I mean I see her with Logan all of the time, but she doesn't look as happy as she does right now.

I walk over and Rory smiles, "Oh Jake, this is Jess. Jess this is Jake, an old friend."

I notice Jake looks at her, oddly, and then holds his hand out to shake mine, "Nice to meet you."

"You too." I let go of his hand and look at Rory who is smiling, brightly.

Lorelai runs over and hugs Rory, "Baby girl! I am offended! You run over to greet your … Jake before me?" She then turns to me and gives me a smile, "Jess!" She hugs me tight and I return the gesture, awkwardly.

When she releases me she turns back to Jake and Rory, "So I see you found him." She laughs a little and hugs Jake, "We've missed you buddy." She says.

Jake nods and lets go of her, "I've missed you, too. So fill me in on your life?"

Rory grins, "Coffee?"

I watch as he nods and looks straight at me, "Your boyfriend can join, too."

She shakes her head, "No, no, no … he is not my boyfriend." Her cute laugh escapes her perfect mouth.

I just smirk and watch her as she tries to explain what I am exactly. Finally she settles on, "He's my room mate's boyfriend. Also Luke's nephew."

Jake nods with an amused look on his face. He looks between both of us and then licks his lips, "Well then, your room mate's boyfriend slash Luke's nephew can come."

I can't help but laugh at this as the three of us make our way to the diner.

Once we are inside we find a seat. I sit down and Rory sits beside me, and then Jake sits down in front of her.

"So … I graduated at the top of my class, and I am attending Yale. I am dating Logan Huntzberger and live with three girls. I might as well say three girls and one guy, because Jess is always over there." She laughs and looks at me. I just smirk and wait for her to continue. She goes on about how much the town has changed. Like Kirk getting a girlfriend and Luke and Lorelai finally getting together. She then tells him about a girl named Lane.

"Lane's good?" He asks, smiling.

Rory nods and a smile spreads across her features as well, "Lane's good. She's traveling with her band. Momma Kim is their manager."

He laughs out loud, "You're kidding!"

She shakes her head, "Nope." She replies, giggling.

**

* * *

**We've been sitting here for an hour having meaningless conversation and I feel like I should leave them alone. 

"Hey guys, I guess I better go. I have a paper to work on and I need to get started on it. It was nice meeting you Jake. See you around." I nod to him.

He smiles, "Nice meeting you, too. I'll probably catch you tomorrow at the fire work show."

I nod again and look at Rory, "See you later." I say and she looks up at me. We lock eyes for a minute, but she turns away quickly. I make my way to the door and out of the diner.

I sigh to myself as I think about how she looked at Jake. I wish she would look at me that way.

**Rory's POV**

"What was that?" Jake asks as I turn back to him.

I laugh at his sudden outburst, "What?"

"That look between the two of you. It was one of those '… and the world fades away …' kind of looks." He said to me, mockingly.

"It was not!" I defend.

He shakes his head and looks me in the eyes. I hate when he does that. It's as if he is reading me. He smirks, "You love him."

My face turns red. I can feel it burning in my cheeks. I shake my head, furiously, "I do not!"

"You have to be … you kept stealing glances at him, he made you blush when he accidentally brushed your hand, and when you introduced me you said I was just an 'old friend'."

I feel bad about that one and I sigh, "I didn't mean to do tha-"

He cuts me off, quickly, "I don't care. Just admit it."

"I don't, Jake. Drop it." I bite my lip and look down at the coffee mug in front of me.

He takes this as an opportunity to dig deeper and make me even more uncomfortable with the way his conversation is going, "So how close are you to his girlfriend?"

"Jake, shut up!" My outburst turns heads and my face turns fire red. I get up and bolt out of the diner, because honestly I am mortified.

He comes out after me and places his hands on my shoulders, "Rory … look at me. I didn't mean to make you upset … I was joking. Are you okay?"

"I don't know!" I blurt out and then turn around to face him, "I don't know. Everything is just … weird. I feel something for him, you know? We just … click. I can't hide it everyday and night hoping he'll suddenly forget all about Hayley and fall in love with me. He has everything he needs in one girl already."

"But the way he looked at you, Ror … it's the same way I used to." He smiles softly at me, and I know he is just trying to make me feel better, "Sometimes I still do." He adds.

I shrug my shoulders and look around at the town, "We're friends, Jake, that's all we'll ever be. I have Logan and he has Hayley."

"So change that. Break up with Logan and eventually Jess will break up with Hayley. Trust me."

"Yeah, cause that worked out so well the last time." It comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. He just looks at me with hurt eyes.

"I thought you forgave me." He shakes his head, "You said I was forgiven."

"I know! I'm sorry, Jake … please … I'm sorry." I reach out to him and try to get him to look at me.

"Whatever, it's fine. Maybe you should go on home, it's kind of late." Jake motions to my house and I nod my head slowly.

"I really am sorry." I say as I am walking to my house.

He gives me a small smile, "I know … we'll talk tomorrow."

"Okay." I turn my back to him and continue walking home. All these thoughts are running through my head and I can't control them. Jake's changed. My feelings for Jess will only grow stronger. Hayley will kill me and possibly leave me with no home if I tell her. Logan will have his heart ripped to shreds. And, damn it, I am in charge of making sure Kirk doesn't set the Grand Finale firework up upside down.

I walk into my house and go into my bedroom. Jess is sitting on my bed reading one of my books from my large collection.

"What are you reading?" I ask quietly, as I sit beside him.

"_Howl_." He deadpans, without looking up from the book.

I smile, "It's a good book, huh?"

"Yup." He replies.

Obviously, I am confused. All I am getting is one word answers. It's actually very … annoying, "Are you okay?"

He sighs and shuts my book, "Fine. And you?"

"Jess, what the hell is wrong with you?" I ask, standing up.

He follows suit and shakes his head in that arrogant Jess way, "Nothing, so how come you never told me about Jake? Who is he?"

"No one." I answer quickly, "A friend."

"Come on Rory, what's the story?" He asks me again.

I grit my teeth, "He's my ex-boyfriend!" I shout and dig my nails into the palm of my hand.

He nods and looks down at the comforter on the bed, "I knew it was something like that."

"He was my first, my first crush, my first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first love, my first heartbreak." I sigh and try to get myself together before I tell Jess about my history with Jake. "Okay, I've known Jake since I was seven. Jake, Lane, and I … we were inseparable. We were the three musketeers. No one could pull us apart.

Jake had always had feelings for me and I never saw it, but one day when we were fifteen we were on the gazebo and I was talking about some boy who had asked me out on a date. Jake was getting mad and we ended up fighting. Right when I was in the middle of one of my angry rants he kissed me. After that we were together. Everywhere we went we were holding hands. Of course Lane was still always with us, we were just now a couple." I smile and then feel it come into a frown as I get ready to tell the next part.

"One night I told him I loved him and he just stared at me. So I got up to walk away and he said it back. I felt like he was just saying it to make me feel better so I snapped at him. We got into an argument and I left, angry as hell. A few days later I had finally calmed down so I went to his house. He was walking out of the door with a girl so I walked over to him with this look on my face that was mixed with hurt and confusion. He told the girl to get into the car and then he turned to me." I pause and bite my lip, holding back any emotion that I might feel, "Then he said that he needed time to think. And that we would be together in the end … to trust him. But the thing is, I did trust him and there he was going off with some girl while we were still together." I take a deep breath.

"A few months later, he left. Without a goodbye … he didn't even say a word to me. It hurt. Not only did he cheat on me, but he left me. I never thought I could forgive him. But on my graduation day he came back and apologized and told me how much he had screwed up, so I forgave him. And that was the last time I saw him." I look up at Jess who is nodding his head and listening carefully.

"I'm sorry I pushed to get something out of you."

"It's fine, can we just not talk about it?" I ask.

I am waiting for him to say something but he never does. Finally he speaks up, "I love ice cream, but honestly hate milk." He blurts out and sits on the bed, "I count how many tiles are on the ceiling in every building I am in." He points up, "128." I laugh a little and listen as he continues.

"I eat every letter in my alphabet soup, but always leave two S's, one E, and one J."

"To spell out your name." I point out, laughing.

"Exactly." He smiles, "Hayley never knew that about me. I love ketchup, but wouldn't dare touch tomato." He smirks and looks at me. I sit on the bed beside him and we are a little bit closer. I'm glad he changed the subject. I know he'll want to talk about it later, though.

"I hate when guys notice my eyes before anything else." I say and lift my head up to look at him. We are now sitting right in front of each other. I could reach out just a tiny bit and touch his knee that is lightly brushing against mine. "I love putting caramel in my milk, but I hate it on my ice cream. Speaking of, I can't eat ice cream in a bowl. It has to be in a cone."

"Me too!" He laughs and looks down at his hands, "Does Logan know any of this?" He asks, quietly.

I shake my head, "No and neither does Jake." I add and he looks up at me with a smirk on his face. We sit in silences for several minutes. He leans into me and our noses touch. He tilts his head and our lips are so close.

Then … we're interrupted.

**A/N: Ha! Cliffhanger … fun! Review, please!! Next chapter will be up sooner. **


	5. Obvious Attraction

**A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews I got last chapter. I'm sorry I left you with such an awful cliffhanger. I'm glad people seemed to like Jake, I like writing about him. And by the way, Dean never existed. Well here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Big thanks to my BETA, ****CharliLee**

* * *

**Jess' POV**

I can't stand it anymore, I have to kiss her. Not even the thought of Hayley can stop me. I know that sounds absolutely horrible, but it's true.

I lean in first, hoping that she won't back away. She doesn't. I come closer to her and our noses touched slightly so I tilt my head. Our lips are dangerously close and then:

" … This is what it's now like when the doves cry …"

Rory drops her head and laughs a little, "I should ..." She nods to her phone on the nightstand.

I nod my head and try to lighten the mood, "Prince?"

"Shut up." She smiles a little and grabs her phone, "Hello?" Her face drops slightly, "Oh, Logan. Hi." She stops and looks at me, "I'm fine. He's right here actually, we were just talking." Rory sighs, heavily, "Logan, we were just talking. There is nothing to worry about." There was a long silence from Rory, she looked a little angry, "Okay, Logan. You too. Bye."

I watch her as she hangs up the phone, "It's late." I say and I stand up, "The couch is calling my name."

She gives a small smile and I turn to walk out of the room. "And Jess?"

I turn to face her and I nod, "Yeah, this never happened. I get it."

Smiling a small smile, she nods her head. I turn around and walk into the living room. Why did Logan have to ruin that perfect moment? Why did Logan have to be in the picture anyway? Maybe it's a good thing that he stopped us. It would have brought on a lot of drama that I don't really need.

I get on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. Sighing, I think of her face as she was listening to me ramble on about random things that I like or do. Or the way her face looked as we were leaning in to kiss each other. Or the slight disappointment that crossed her features when we were interrupted by the phone.

Man, the little things about her drive me insane. I don't think I can handle being around her, just us two, for two more days.

With that last thought I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Jess?" I hear the soft voice that I have come to love. It's somewhere; I just can't seem to find the face.

"Jess …" Her voice. Rory's voice says from a far off distance. I feel a slight pang in my right shoulder and the voice sounds a lot more irritated, "Jess!"

I jump up and hold my shoulder where the pain is throbbing. I look up and see Rory staring down at me with a pitcher of water in her hand, "What is that for? And why does my shoulder hurt?"

"Well, actually, this pitcher was plan B. If you didn't wake up when I hit you I was going to pour-"

"Let me guess freezing cold water all over me." I finish and throw my legs over onto the ground.

"Actually, no, I was going to throw steaming hot coffee all over you." She grins, evilly, and lets me look in the pitcher. Sure enough there is black liquid filled all the way up to the top. She had a very evil mind. I'm pretty sure her mother had something to do with that.

"That's horrible." I stand up, "How long have you been up?" I look around for a clock. I'm oddly not surprised when I don't see one in the living room.

"About an hour." I hear her say and I look directly at her.

"Where are we going?" I ask and rub my eyes, trying to wake myself up.

"Luke's! Come on." She grins and walks into the kitchen, "I'll wait until you get dressed."

I nod and grab my clothes out of the bag beside the couch, and then I walk into the bathroom.

I swear I could watch her laugh for hours. I could listen to her talk for days. I would probably never get sick of her smile. Am I hooked or what?

I hear the bell ring, signaling the arrival of someone. Looking up, I see that it's Jake. Rory waves him over to our table and he sits down. I look at the exchange between the two. The hug. The kiss Rory gives him on the cheek. The small smile that Jake gives her. It kind of makes me sick. It's like she turns to mush when he's around. I sigh and excuse myself from the table.

First I have to worry about Logan and now Jake. Nothing is going to be easy for me, is it?

* * *

**Rory's POV**

Twenty minutes until I need to meet Jake and Jess at the firework show in the square. I am not even close to being ready! How come I was never this nervous about the way I look when I was going out with Logan? I look through my closet at least thirty different times trying to find the right outfit.

After declining about eighteen outfits, I finally find one that I like. It's simple and it's actually the first outfit I had picked out to begin with. I turn around and see my mother standing in the doorway.

I jump, a bit startled, "How long have you been there?" I ask with a light laugh rising in my throat.

"Since the fifth outfit. Who are you trying to impress? The town troubadour?" Her face turns from curiosity to a bright smile, "Or Jake? Are you trying to impress Jake?!"

I laugh and shake my head, "No. Jake and I are over, mom. There's nothing else there." I reach out to her and pat her shoulder. "Sorry."

She sighs, "Then why are you getting so dres- Jess." She smiles and nods her head, "You are getting dolled up because Jess is going to be there tonight. I knew you had this little thing for him."

"Mom!" I'm actually surprised it's that obvious, but then again this is my mother. But Jake knew it too.

"You do! You and Jess, huh? Never thought of that, I mean I guess behind that rebel-without-a-cause thing there is something nice about him. He _is_ cute," she rambles on.

"Mom, no; I just want to look nice. It is a town thing that people, many people, attend." I assure her. She just stares at me with a disbelieving look in her eyes.

"Mhm … Well get dressed. I'll wait for you in the living room." She smiles at me and walks out of my room.

I know I should tell mom. But, I know how she will react. She might like Jess, but he's Luke's nephew. She won't like that. Although, I did like Jess before I knew he was Luke's nephew.

I zip up my pants and walk into the living room. Taking a deep breath, I say, "I like Jess."

Mom squeals and claps her hands, jumping over the couch to get to me, "I knew it! I knew you had a thing for him! What about Hayley? What about Logan ?!" She slings her arm over my shoulders and walks me out the door, "I'm so proud of you. My little home-wrecker slash cheater."

"Mom!" I screech as we continue down the sidewalk on our way to the festivities.

She keeps grinning and we get to the town square. Kissing my cheek, she looks at me, "I'm going over to see if Luke needs a distraction." She winks at me.

I laugh a little, "Dirty." I state before she walks off. I turn and see Jess standing by himself, looking around at everyone. I almost can't force myself to go over there. But my legs have a mind of their own and before I know it I am standing in front of him.

"Hey there." He smirks and looks me up and down. "You look nice."

"Same to you." I hear myself say. Where the hell did that confidence come from?

"So I was just wondering, about last night … I-"

"Hey guys." Jake walks up and hands us a drink, "Nice night out, isn't it?"

Damn him. "Sure is." I reply, forcing a smile upon my face. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Jake to death. But he has the worst timing!

"Can't see stars like this in the city." Jess says, "It looks cloudy, though, as if it were about to rain at any moment."

"Shh! You'll jinx the firework show! The 'R' word, the 'L' word, and the 'T' word are forbidden." Kirk says, walking up to us, "Now, I must go pick up the fireworks. I'll be watching you, trouble maker."

As he walks off, Jess turns to me, "And I thought Taylor was scary." He smirks and I almost melt.

I take a deep, shaky breath and I just watch him. I shake myself out of my trance after about 10 minutes and look at Jake who was smiling, mischievously. He just shrugs and walks off.

I look to the side where Taylor is setting up a big tent. Thunder booms loudly and little droplets of rain start coming down. When it gets a little bit harder, I see everyone running to get under the big tent. Jess grabs my arm and I follow him to where everyone else was headed.

"Guess I did jinx it." He says over the rain once we are under the covered area. It's crowded so I scoot closer to him, trying to let everyone get under.

I laugh and look around at everyone, "Yeah, looks like you'll be on Kirk's 'list'." I say over the rain and the other people's voices so Jess can hear me. He's quiet so I look up at him. We're extremely close and I swallow hard to fight back any kind of emotion I have right now. Jess is looking at me with an intense stare that always sends tingles down my spine.

He leans down and touches his lips to mine. It takes me a minute to realize what's going on. I respond and kiss him back, pulling him closer to me. I've waited forever to know what it feels like to have his lips on mine. It's exactly what I imagined it to be.

Nothing could bring me down …

* * *

**A/N: Ah! They kissed! Finally, right? Review please!**


	6. I Don't Want To Forget

**Disclaimer: I own Hayley, Suzanne, Libby, and Jake.**

**A/N: I love getting reviews! I'm glad people like this story! I mean it's only the sixth chapter and I am two reviews away from 100. I'm happy. So since I am so happy, I am writing another chapter. Here you go!**

* * *

**Jess' POV**

I pull away from the one thing I have wanted to do since I met her and I rest my forehead against hers. She's smiling at me and I note to myself that that is a very good sign. My hands are holding her face so she is looking right at me. She's gorgeous.

She bites her lip, shyly and her eyes avert to the ground. I step away from her and look around at the people around us. No one saw us and I was happy for that. I look at her and she's still looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry." I say, afraid that I moved too quickly.

She looks up at me, "What? Why?"

"I thought maybe you regretted what we just did. I understand if you do, I mean it was wrong. I'm with Hayley and you are with Logan." I sigh, "But Rory, honestly, I've liked you the whole time I was with Hayley. That sounds horrible, but it's true. And it's not like me and Hayley are serious, but you and Logan are …"

I look up at her and she's smiling at me slightly, "What we did _was_ wrong, but I didn't regret it, Jess."

I smirk and nod, "But we shouldn't do it again?"

"We just need to figure out what we want." Rory smiles at me and the rain starts letting up. I start to say something else, but I'm cut off by the sound of Taylor's voice.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but sense it is very wet out here a firework show is out of the question. We shall re-schedule when we can. Do not be upset we can still eat and have a merry time."

"Blame Luke's nephew!" Kirk shouts, standing beside Taylor.

I roll my eyes. This town is certainly the oddest little place in the world, and I have been to many places. Lorelai walks towards us, laughing. "I guess you are now Kirk's number one enemy."

"Lucky me," I reply, sarcastically. How many people are going to ruin my moment with Rory? I shove my hands in my pocket, "I think I'm going to see if Luke needs any help closing up the diner." I walk away from Rory and Lorelai, shooting a smile in Rory's direction.

Before I get to the diner, I feel someone pull me to the side by my arm, "Hey!" I look and see its Jake and I jerk my arm away, "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't think I didn't see you and Rory's little lip action under there. I'm not mad; believe me I am over Rory. But, Jess if you hurt her I'll kill you. There'll be nothing stopping me from ripping you to shreds. Rory is my best friend and I love her to death. I don't know what your intentions are, but I can tell she feels strongly about you." Jake's glaring at me, trying to make me feel threatened. Honestly, I am a little threatened. This guy can be intimidating when he wants to be.

"I won't hurt her, but we both have someone. That was probably just going to happen once." I say after I had taken a deep breath.

Jake nods, "I really doubt that." Jake smirks a little, "My first instinct was wrong, Jess. You're not so bad."

"Yeah, neither are you." I smirk and walk into the diner with Jake walking right behind me. I think I could come to be pretty good friends with this guy.

* * *

**Rory's POV**

It's been two days since I kissed Jess. Every time we see each other we just smile and keep walking. I put my jeans back into my suitcase as mom walks in the door.

"So, when are you going to see me again?" She asks me, sitting on the bed and smiling her most innocent smile.

"Probably next weekend," I say, laughing. "Stop acting like I never come see you."

"Oh but it gets so lonely around the house when you're not here." She pouts and looks at my suitcase.

"You have Luke," I retort in a sing song voice. I hear her sigh and I look over at her, "Come on mom."

"Fine. Leave momma." She crosses her arms over her chest and sticks her bottom lip out.

"Hey that's my look!" I laugh and zip up my suitcase. She smiles and I hear the door open and laughter fill the house. I walk out into the living room with my suitcase in hand and see Jess and Jake joking around about something. They've hung out a lot in the past two days. I barely got to see Jake.

"The look on his face … priceless," Jake says, laughing and trying to catch his breath.

"What did you two do?" Mom asks as she comes up to stand behind me.

They both stop laughing and Jess shakes his head, "Nothing."

"Nothing at all," Jake adds, trying his best not to laugh.

"I swear you two act like teenage boys." I roll my eyes, "Jess, you ready to head back to New Haven?"

Jess nods, "You should stick around Jake, we'll come back and visit a lot and I need someone sane in this town." He grabs his suitcase that is beside the couch.

I hug Jake and kiss his cheek, "You should stay around close. We miss you."

"I know, I know. I'll stay close." He smiles and we pull away from the embrace, "Be good."

I turn around and hug mom, "I love you. See you next weekend."

"You better," she says holding onto me tightly. After we pull away, I walk out of the house and down to the car.

It takes a few minutes, but Jess walks out of the house and puts his bag in the car. We get in and he drives off. The ride was silent. It wasn't a comfortable silence, either. I try to think of anything to say to him.

"Are we pretending this didn't happen?" He asks, glancing at me.

"No. Yes. I don't know," I say, sighing.

He nods and keeps his eyes on the road, "I don't want to forget it happened."

"Me either," I reply, "But we need to. We have Hayley to worry about. And Logan."

"Yeah, I know." He doesn't look at me. His eyes are on the road and his face is emotionless.

I sigh and stare ahead of me at the road. How come you can never get what you want but you seem to always have what you don't want?

* * *

We walk inside my apartment and I see Hayley waiting for us with Suzanne sitting beside her.

"Jess!" Hayley squeals and jumps on him to give him a kiss. I watch them and my stomach turns. I feel my eyes watering just a bit, but I cover it up with a fake smile.

"I'm so sorry about getting mad at you. I know I should trust you." Hayley says and kisses him again. Jess glances at me when she hugs him and I just look at Suzanne.

"Hey Suzanne," I say, smiling.

She gives me a sympathetic look, "Hey Ror."

I walk into my room and put my suitcase on the bed. Shutting the door, I glance back at them in the living room. I sit on my bed and put my head in my hands. I knew it would come out to be nothing in between me and Jess.

I just knew it.

* * *

**A/N: Okay short chapter! I'm sorry, but it was kind of a filler for things to come. Don't hate me! ****It was kind of breaking my heart writing about the interaction between Hayley and Jess. And Rory's reaction to it. Review, please! **


	7. The Huntzbergers

**Disclaimer: I own Hayley, Libby, and Suzanne… and Jake.**

**A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews on last chapter! Most of them were 'Aw, Poor Rory.' I totally agree! Haha, it almost killed me to write that chapter.**

**So I had this chapter written perfectly and I was extremely happy with it, but somehow it got deleted! I was unbelievably angry. So this chapter might not be as good but I tried! Enjoy!**

**Thanks to Just A Girl Of The Hollowx3 for being my BETA**

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**Jess' POV**

I have been here for four hours and I haven't seen Rory come out of that room once. She's been avoiding me and the only time we have seen each other was when she bumped into me going into the bathroom. We have been home from Stars Hollow for six days and Hayley has made it her duty to spend every free minute we have with each other.

Just as I turn my attention back to the TV, I hear a knock on the door. I get up and make my way over to see who is gracing me with their presence. When I open up I see Logan and I inwardly roll my eyes, if that is even possible.

"Is Rory here?" He asks, looking behind me in search of the girl we are both head over heels for.

I turn around and take a deep breath before yelling out into the apartment, "Rory! Logan's here!"

She emerges out of her room quickly and runs over to greet Logan. She smiles as she hugs him tightly and leans up to give him a kiss, "I'm glad you're home."

"Me too, Ace." He grins and runs his hand through her hair. And Ace? What the heck? I hate that stupid nick name. What does it even mean?

I have to tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me. It's one of those things that make you absolutely disgusted, but you can't help but watch it. I walk back over to the couch and plop down listening to them talk, but not really hearing what they are saying.

Taking another look at them, I see Logan's face plastered to Rory's and my stomach is turning. I get this impatient streak running through my veins and I bounce my knee, waiting for them to pull away and take a breath.

Finally with a large intake of breath I hear Hayley walk in and sit beside me on the couch. I feel her kiss my cheek and I smile a little. Turning to her, I kiss her quickly. She lets her lips linger a little longer than I expected and after a moment I pull away and turn my attention to the door. Rory and Logan are gone and I didn't even notice them leaving.

I swallow hard at the thought of her with him, and I turn back to Hayley again placing my lips on hers for the second time.

* * *

I walk into their apartment later on that night and see a post-it on the counter. 

'_Jess – _

_Went to library to study, stay here and grab something to eat in the fridge. Rory and Suzanne should be home soon. _

_-Hayley.'_

I crumble up the note and take my place on the couch. This has got to be my regular spot because honestly I am _always _here.

I feel like I have been here for at least an hour when I feel someone sit beside me. Without even looking up, I know its Rory. I can, oddly, smell that it's her.

She sighs and looks over at me. I know I'm uncomfortable and I can tell she is too. She starts talking and I turn my head to listen to her. I am immediately distracted, why is she so damn cute?

"Where's Hayley?" I hear her ask and I clear my throat before speaking.

"Oh, uh, she's at the uh library." I stumble through my words and I feel like my tongue swelled two times its normal size. She nods and repeatedly rubs her hands on her jeans.

"So I have to meet the Huntzburgers tomorrow," she says, sighing, "Will that not be a disaster?"

I shrug, "They'll like you," I say, smirking.

She shrugs, mimicking my earlier movement, "Maybe." She looks around the room and I watch her from the corner of my eye, "I should go," she says out of no where and I just nod.

"Okay … goodnight." I smile at her and she gets off the couch and walks into her room.

"Goodnight." She smiles and bites her lip, "Dipstick." She adds and I smile at the thought of getting back to normal. She closes her door and I keep grinning. Just when I was getting happier the door opens and Suzanne walks in.

I look up at her and she rolls her eyes, "Don't you ever go home?" She asks me, obviously annoyed by my presence.

"Nope," I reply, smiling. I never go home because my roommates are annoying as hell. These aren't the greatest in the world, but it's better.

"I mean no one is even here to entertain yo- Unless … Rory entertains you." She smiles suggestively and I shake my head.

"No," I deadpan and she scoffs, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Oh please, you know you come here just so you might catch a glimpse of her in something … inappropriate." She grins wickedly and I just laugh.

"Yeah, right." I grab my coke off of the table in front of me and take a sip.

"You obviously have some kind of deep attraction to her and we all know she is in love with you," Suzanne states and I nearly spit out my drink. It surprised me for two reasons. One, I didn't know it was that obvious. And two, I didn't know Rory felt that way.

"Sue, you have no clue what you are talking about."

"Something happened in Stars Hollow, didn't it? Because ever since you have been back you have avoided each other, gave each other small smiles, and you guys don't even joke anymore. Something happened."

"No, Sue," I say and look at her, acting like I was annoyed at her accusations, "I am with Hayley."

She groans and throws her arms up in the air, "Hopeless," She says, walking into the bedroom she shares with Rory.

I just smirk and think about the things she just said.

* * *

I wake up to the sound of girls' fighting in hushed tones or what they think is hushed tones. I sit up and rub my eyes before looking around at where I am. I didn't think I had slept here. I had wanted to leave twenty minutes after Hayley got home. I stretch and look at the scene unfolding in front of me, behind the couch. 

"What color was this sweater before it was washed?" Rory asked Libby in a demanding tone. She was holding up a pink sweater and facing Libby with an angry look on her face. Suzanne was standing behind Rory, laughing and Hayley was behind Libby, rolling her eyes.

"White …" Libby says, scared of what Rory would say, "I'm sorry! I've never washed clothes at home!"

"Unbelievable," Rory mumbles. She hears me chuckle and shoots me a glare. I hold my hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry … I'll go." I stand up and put my jacket on. Walking out of the apartment, I kiss Hayley on the cheek quickly and leave.

When I shut the door I sigh and the only thing I can think about is the way Rory's blue eyes flash when she was waving around the pink sweater or the way her nose wrinkled when she heard Libby say she couldn't do something as simple as laundry or the way her face was turning red as she raised her voice. Man, she has me hooked.

I'm not supposed to think about her. I'm supposed to be thinking about Hayley, but sometimes I get mad when her hair isn't as soft as Rory's or that her eyes aren't the same beautiful color.

I shake my head and get into my car. Leaning back in my seat, I try to think about one thing I like about Hayley more than I like about Rory. All I can think is: '_Nothing, she's not Rory.' _

I'm horrible …

* * *

**Rory's POV**

I set down my curling iron and look at my appearance in the mirror. My hair is finally perfect, my make-up makes my face look … presentable, but not beautiful. My outfit is pretty, especially since my grandma _did _buy it for me. She has great fashion sense when it comes to society people.

I look down at my outfit and think about how I would rather be meeting Jess' family. I mean I've met his mom and his uncle, but the rest of his family is a mystery. I want to get to know him like that.

No, no, no … I am supposed to be thinking about Logan tonight. It is _our _night. I slip on my shoes and hear someone knock on my room door. I walk over and open the wooden door only to reveal Logan on the other side. I smile and he kisses me, but I keep it shorter than he wanted it to be.

"You look gorgeous," he comments, reaching for my hand.

I smile and grab my purse off of the dresser, "Thanks." We walk out to the car and all I can think about is Jess! The way he looks down when he is embarrassed and he doesn't blush but there is a pink tint slightly rising in his cheeks. Or the way he'll just look at me and make shivers run down my spine …

I lean my head back on the car seat and continue my thoughts about him until we pull up to his parents' house, no, mansion.

When we walk in I'm immediately awed by the beauty of the mansion. I've been in my grandparents' house, but this is just amazing. He's holding my hand and I tug him back, admiring the murals on the walls and ceiling.

"This is amazing," I remark, in a daze at the way this place looks untouched.

Logan smiles at me, "I know … I would be as completely amazed by this as you, but I'm used to it … it wears off." He nods his head towards the living room, "Come on."

I walk with him into the living room and I hear a woman from the other side of the room call out his name. I turn and she is walking towards us, smiling. She's older and beautiful; I see where Logan gets his looks. She kisses his cheek before turning to me with a big smile.

"And you must be Rory Gilmore. I have heard so much about you from Emily. She was right you are a very lovely girl." She holds out her hand and I shake it slowly.

"Nice to meet you," I hear myself say. Smiling, I sighed relieved at the way this was going. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

I spoke too soon. By the time we got to dinner and Logan's grandfather had joined us everything went down the drain. He went from belittling my mother for getting pregnant young and ruining my dad's life to telling Logan that Straub was right when he said I wouldn't be right for him. 

"Logan is too good for a woman like you …" he says and I snap out of my daze. I swallow back the lump that was forming in my throat. I am about to get up to excuse myself when I hear Logan speak up.

"That's enough! I can't believe you would treat a girlfriend that I brought home like this. I'm embarrassed that Rory had to hear this from you. You have said enough, we're leaving." He turns to me and smiles slightly, "Come on, Rory." For once he didn't call me Ace. And for once Jess wasn't on my mind.

I get out of my chair and walk out of the dining room with Logan. Before I go I turn to them and manage to choke out a, "It was nice meeting you …"

On the way home I try to read his face, but I can't. His emotions aren't readable like Jess' are. When we get back to my apartment we walk into my room. He's still quiet so I sit beside him on the bed.

I set my hand on his knee and smile at him, "Thank you," I whisper. He finally looks up and smiles a little at me. He leans forward and kisses me softly. I pull him closer and he continues kissing me, getting faster with his motions. I'm a virgin so this was getting a little fast, but I didn't say anything.

He leans me back on the bed and I kiss him back. His hands go up my shirt and I shove them off, "Logan, no." He doesn't hear me, I guess because he continues kissing me. Finally I shriek, "No!"

Logan jerks away and jumps off the bed, "I'm sorry," he says softly. He runs his hand through his hair, "I'm so sorry." Biting his lip he walks to the door, but before he goes he looks back at me and shakes his head. Then he walks out.

When he's gone I adjust my shirt and lay my head in my hands. I feel myself about to cry. Apparently my door was open because I feel someone sit beside me and place their hand on my back. I look up and see Jess, smiling sympathetically at me. He rubs his hand up and down my back and I lay my head on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asks me.

I shake my head.

"Want to talk about it?"

I shake my head, again. I feel him nod and I burry my head in the crook of his neck as I think about the events that occurred this evening. I soak his shirt with the tears that finally managed to come up.

* * *

**A/N: So … hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews make me write faster!**


	8. Moving Out And TRYING To Move On

**Disclaimer: I own Hayley, Libby, Suzanne, and Jake. **

**A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! I've got to tell you … I didn't expect to already have THIS many. So thank you, thank you, and thank you!**

**Thanks you to Just A Girl Of The Hollowx3 for being my new BETA. **

**-------------------**

**Jess' POV**

_Leaving claw marks on my back, she kisses me hard and full of passion. I leave open-mouth kisses down her neck after her lips had left mine. I run my hands down her sides and come up to leave another chaste kiss on her lips. When I face her, I open my eyes and see that it isn't green eyes I am looking into. Their blue and bright and she leans forward, crashing her lips on mine. This isn't Hayley …this is Rory._

I snap my eyes open and look to my side. My arm has that tingling sensation that feels like needles are pricking it. I see Rory with her head buried in my side and her arm thrown over my waist. When I look up at the clock I realize that I have been here all night. I slowly slip my arm out from under her. She stirs a bit and opens her eyes slowly. I smile at her and she smiles back. Her face falls a little and she sits up quickly, looking at the clock.

"We've been here all night! We slept together!" She says, franticly. She jumps out of the bed and paces beside it, "What if Hayley walked in last night?"

"I think she would have woken us up," I say, sitting up in the bed.

"You're right," she calms down a bit and turns to me, "Thank you for being there last night. Things got out of hand with Logan."

That strikes a nerve in me and I sit up straighter, "What do you mean?"

"He just … was going too fast," she says, stumbling over her words.

"Like how?" I ask, I can tell my voice is getting stronger.

Rory shakes her head and sits back on the bed, "He wasn't forcing me Jess."

"He better not have," I hear her laugh a little and I smile. I scoot over and sit beside her, my feet dangling over the bed like hers.

"Thank you, Jess," I just smile and nod my head. She looks at me and I breathe in sharp. I know, it's wrong, but I lean in closer to her. She comes towards me, biting her lip. Just as our lips are about to touch for the second time the door opens.

"What the hell?!" I hear Hayley's voice and I close my eyes. Rory jumps away and off the bed.

"It's not what you think," she says quickly, as if that wasn't as clichéd as heck.

"Oh really? It looks like you were about to kiss _my_ boyfriend!" She says, walking in the room and towards Rory.

"Hayley, it was an accident … I wasn't thinking."

"And neither was I," I cut Rory off and she gives me a 'thank you' look.

Hayley shakes her head, "Yeah right! Rory, I can't have you liking my boyfriend … I see the way you look at him. You have to leave. You need to find new room mates, because I can't trust you!"

"Hayley," I say, a little shocked that she just snapped like that.

"I've always known she had feelings for you Jess, and now I've seen it with my own eyes. I can't believe you, Rory. I trusted you! You were my best friend," she says, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Hayles, Rory just had a fight with her boyfriend … it wasn't going to mean anything. We were probably going to stop before our lips even touched. We feel nothing for each other," I put my hand on her shoulder and she jerks her body away from my touch.

"Rory, you can't live here anymore."

Rory opens her mouth to say something, but closes it quickly. She looks at me and then walks past Hayley and out of the room. I look at Hayley's emotionless face and then I follow Rory out.

She turns to me before she walks out of the door, "I'll come get my stuff tomorrow I guess …" She doesn't bother to force a smile and she walks out of the apartment.

I walk back in the room with Hayley. I need to fix things with everyone…somehow.

-----------------

It's been two days and I haven't seen Rory. It's weird going into her room and only seeing Suzanne's things. Jake came by yesterday and I helped him load everything of hers into his truck. He wouldn't tell me where she was staying; he said he was just obeying Rory's wishes. I want to see her. I need to see her.

I open the door to my apartment and walk in seeing the place was messy, just as I remembered. My room mate, Bryan, comes out of the bathroom, cleaning out his ears with his towel, "Jess! Long time no see, where have you been?"

"I've been staying with Hayley, sorry. I just stay there late and don't really feel like coming here, but I'm back," I smirk and put my bag on the bed I claimed when we moved in here last year.

"You look down, dude," Bryan notices and follows me into the kitchen.

"I'm fine, where's Tristan?" Tristan has been my best friend all of my life. We grew up together and came to college together, but I haven't seen him all week.

"He went to pick up his sister, her date was bad," I nod and take off my jacket.

"Listen Bryan, I'm going to go out of town for a few hours or maybe more. Just, if Hayley calls, can you tell her I went to see my mom?"

Bryan nods and lifts up his arm, putting on his deodorant.

"Thanks."

------------------

**Rory's POV**

I lift up another box and set it on the counter. Taking out the kitchen knife, I slide it down the top and slice the tape in half. Thank god that Jake let me stay with him for a while. Me getting kicked out was so … sudden. But, I guess it was best for everyone. Now Jess and Hayley can have a good relationship and I won't have to see it _everyday. _

There is a knock on the door and I walk to it in a hurry. I open it up and Jake is standing with a red face and breathing heavy.

I chuckle, "Are you okay?"

"Yup," he sucks in a deep breath and walks in the house, "I left my key in my bedroom. I tend to do that sometimes. Oh Logan called your cell phone _again._"

I shake my head and walk back to the load of boxes that I have yet to unload, "I told him not to contact me. I told him yesterday when I broke up with him!"

_Rory knocks on the door and waits for him to come. It takes him a second, but he comes to the door. She gives him a small smile and he lets her in._

_Rory stands by the door and watches as he crosses the corridor._

"_You going to come sit, Ace?"_

"_No, no I'm fine." She smiles again and leans against the wall._

"_Well, what are you here for then?" _

"_We should break up," she blurts out and then flinches when she realizes what she said. She closes her eyes tight and opens them slowly when she doesn't hear a response. When she meets his eyes with hers she sees shock written in them._

"_Is this because of the other night because Rory I am truly sorry about that … I was just, I don't know exactly what I was, but I wasn't myself." He rakes his hand through his blonde hair and walks towards her. _

"_No, I'm just … not in love with you and I don't think I ever will be. You aren't the one for me. I'm sorry." _

_He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it just as quickly. _

"_Don't call me, don't contact me ever again unless you want to be friends, but give me at least a week. Bye Logan," Rory kisses him on the cheek and walks out the door._

_Logan was too upset to speak. That was the only girl he had ever loved. _

"Next time he calls I'll answer and act like your foreign lover who you were having a fling with the whole time you and Logan were dating. Sound good?" He raises his eyebrow.

I laugh and walk to my bedroom with a load of clothes in my arms, "You hang around mom way too much."

"Compliment?" I hear him calling from the kitchen.

"No!" I shout back and continue to chuckle, hanging up my clothes.

"Hey, I'll order take-out!" He calls to me, again. I don't answer, because even if I object he will order it anyway.

--------------

"Hey, it's been thirty minutes, I'm pretty sure the food is ready," I say, turning to Jake.

"It probably is. I'll be back in ten minutes." Not even five seconds later I heard a knock on the door. I walk to it and open. Jake stood there smiling.

"I left my keys."

I roll my eyes and watch as he goes to the bedroom and grabs them. He then walks back outside and gets in the car. I start unpacking my books in the bedroom when I hear another knock on the door.

I groan and stand up. Walking to the door, I say in an aggravated tone, "What did you forget this time? Your wallet?" I open the door and gasp when I see Jess standing in front of me.

"Hi," he says and smiles at me.

We just can't stay away …

**A/N: So I didn't like this chapter too much, but it did make for an interesting chapter next time! **


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